


Precious Cargo

by LightPinkTheColorOfMyAura



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galran OCs, Gen, One-Shot, Pidge and Keith can't handle children, but they would never be mean to them, lance is great with kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 22:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12921099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightPinkTheColorOfMyAura/pseuds/LightPinkTheColorOfMyAura
Summary: The team is tasked with rescuing an alien princess. Pidge and the others are not very excited to watch Lance fall all over himself for a pretty girl, so they decide to keep him...busy.When their plan falls through and they find someone unexpected, Lance pulls through like theyshouldhave expected.





	Precious Cargo

**Author's Note:**

> A request fic for jessiqualove on tumblr! I hope you enjoy!

The Castle of Lions was in orbit around the planet of Lianna after a mission freeing a small rebel prison in the neighboring system. Coran had insisted that they stop by, as the Liannan people were known for their charisma, negotiation skills, and general sway in intergalactic peace talks. Princess Allura and Coran requested permission to land, but were denied due to safety protocols. Instead, they were granted a video-conversation with the King.

The team was allowed to introduce themselves, but had to leave shortly into the conversation for privacy among the royalty, as per the King’s conditions. As Allura continued the more diplomatic discussions, the rest of the team talked about the appearance of the new alien race they had just encountered.

The Liannan species was about the size of a human, though a bit taller given the height of the King and the speaker of the court. They had pastel-colored skins ranging through all the colors of the rainbow, which changed based on their diets. Pidge commented to her teammates that they were like flamingos. Keith had never seen or been interested in flamingos and had to have Lance explain for him off to the side. The Liannans also had short and stout antennae poking out of their hair, which was an integral part of their facial expressions. Their noses were flat and their mouths were big, though the people surely varied in facial features more than they had seen from only two Liannans. 

“I must apologize Princess Allura,” The speaker of the court said through the video channel. The king was present behind him, but according to the traditions of the Liannan people he could not speak through any means other than face-to-face conversations. “The King and his court are unable to even  _ consider _ the Voltron coalition given the state of our world. We are deep in mourning.”

Princess Allura dipped her head low and replied, “I offer my condolences. Please, if you’re able, what has happened to create such a state of sorrow?” There were a mixture of motives behind her question. First and foremost was compassion for the people of Lianna, and hope that she would be able to bring comfort to them. A smaller, but still important, motive was the hope that their problem could be  _ solved _ , and then they would be able to engage in talks of the coalition.

The speaker hesitated. He had not rehearsed this answer, and looked to the King for the appropriate response. There was a short, hushed exchange between the two men. The speaker looked to the Princess, his small antennae alert once more. Though he had the response to tell Allura, he seemed pained at it.

“The bloodline for our monarchy has been around since the beginning of our civilization. Soon, it will come to an end. The crown Prince and the Princess, were on a diplomatic visit to a planet in a nearby system, and the crown Prince was killed by Galran scouts.” A soft gasp escaped Allura, she had not expected a tragedy of such a calibre. 

The King’s gaze was cast at the ground, and the speak hesitated a tick before continuing. “The Princess is now the heir to the throne, but she cannot survive for long without her brother’s protection. Given the new hostility of the planet, however, we cannot send anyone after her without alerting the Galran scouts of our planet. We have not been invaded and cannot risk a rescue, no matter how much it pains our people.”

“We will go.” Allura said quickly. She hadn’t even thought before speaking, though she would have said the same even if she had properly considered it. “Is there any way to track the Princess? Voltron will retrieve her and bring her home safely, if she is still alive.”

The King’s expression lit up and he stood in a spontaneous gesture. “Thank you, Princess Allura.” The speaker of the court gawked at the King. “If my daughter is returned safely to me, I will join your coalition with a debt that can never be repaid. As a King I cannot in good conscious put the life of my family above the life of my civilization. But as a father, I beg of you to do what I cannot.”

Having spoken his piece, the King composed himself and took his seat at the throne once more. The speaker of the court also had to compose himself. He was shocked and, if he were being honest, frightened when the King spoke so freely. Though, he did understand given the circumstances.

“We do have a tracker on her.” The speaker explained, “She was given a bracelet when she was born, I can give the tracking frequency to you to follow to her. On behalf of the people of Lianna, I thank you for your help.”

The frequency was relayed to the Princess, who called for Pidge and Hunk immediately to begin tracking. Within the varga, the team had mobilized and was ready to head out to the location of the Princess’s tracker.

* * *

Lance knew something was up when Hunk asked him to help sort out some of his machinery junk. He loved spending time with his best friend, but they  _ both _ knew that the Yellow Paladin trusted no one other than himself to properly organize his junk. The fact that most of the team referred to his extra mechanical parts as “junk” probably didn’t help their case much, either.

Regardless, the Blue Paladin sat with Hunk and carefully sorted out the various metal, plastic, and glass bits by a variety of characteristics. First, he made three piles for the different material. Then, he sorted them by structure. Pipes, panes, corner bits, any weird and recurring shapes that he didn’t have a formal name for. Lastly, if there were varying sizes of the specific material and structure, he also sorted them by sizes. 

The mind numbing task was only made  _ more _ so by Hunk’s intermittent breaks. The Yellow Paladin would periodically see someone near the door, stand up and go talk to them, look back at Lance, talk some  _ more _ , and eventually return. Unless he didn’t. A few times he actually walked out, then came back a few minutes later. 

By the time Lance had finished all the categorizing of junk, his fingers ached and he wanted to know what was going on. His quest for answers, unfortunately, was halted before it even began.

* * *

Hunk glared pointedly at his teammates. “Why am  _ I _ tasked with distracting him?” He complained, “I hope all of you know that Lance isn’t stupid and he  _ knows _ something is up. I never, ever,  _ ever _ ask him for help organizing my stash. He’s suspicious.”

Pidge shrugged, “What was  _ I _ going to ask for help with? Computer coding? He would  _ really _ be suspicious then.” She looked to Keith and Shiro for their excuses, with hers more solid than bedrock.

Keith scowled at her, “Yeah let me just ask him to randomly spend time with him, as if he doesn’t  _ always _ treat  _ everything _ I say with skepticism.” The others weighed out the response. He was right, Lance did take this ‘rivalry’ a bit far sometimes. Keith wouldn’t have been able to occupy his time.

Shiro shrugged, “There were no menial tasks for me to have him do. He had cleaning duty with Coran like two days ago, it’s not like I could have had him do something like that.”

The Yellow Paladin groaned loudly and dragged it out several moments as a show of his annoyance. “When he figures out what’s going on,” He pointed at his teammates, slowly scanning over all of them until he landed on Shiro, “And he  _ will _ ,” He swept his vision across them again, “I’m  _ not _ the one who’s taking the blame for this. It’s all on  _ you _ guys.”

Pidge scoffed, “He’s  _ not _ gonna notice, or  _ care _ if he does. You guys  _ know _ how he is and how terrible it’ll be if he gets snubbed. Or worse, if she reciprocates.” She cut her eyes at Keith, who crossed his arms and looked away indignantly.

Shiro nodded slowly, “Yeah, it  _ is _ for the best to just prevent the opportunity for Lance to try and flirt with the Princess. He’s great with people, but really weak for a pretty person.”

Allura interrupted their discussion over the intercom systems as she called for the Paladins to gather in the control room.

* * *

“Now Paladins, keep in mind that the Princess has  _ just _ lost her older brother, so be considerate of this while you extract her. We don’t know what kind of emotional state she’ll be in.” Allura explained. Suddenly she scrunched her eyebrows together, “Where’s Lance?” The others grimaced immediately.

“Hey sorry I’m late, Hunk had me organizing some things and my armor wasn’t in its normal spot,” He explained, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “I always keep it in the same spot, but I must have forgotten last time.” Hunk averted his eyes. Lance hadn’t misplaced anything, he had purposely moved it. He was just too trusting to assume anyone would have a reason to do that, and his trust made Hunk feel a bit guilty for helping the others keep him in the dark.

The Blue Paladin beamed at the others, “But I’m here now, and what did I hear about a Princess? Are we here for a reconnaissance mission? Some rescue and run? Damsel and dash?” His jokes fell flat and his smiled turned strained, “Okay, then, got it. Serious mission.”

Allura turned to Coran, “Alert the King of Lianna that we have arrived. He may turn on the bracelet’s beacon.” The Altean advisor complied at once, and the speaker of the court from Lianna confirmed that the Princess’s bracelet was indeed emitting a beacon now, for ease of locating.

“Bracelet? Beacon?” Lance asked, but the team was already moving. The Castle was hovered over the planet the Princess was at, but their Blue Paladin hadn’t been properly briefed. He knew now, in the midst of his confusion, that he had been purposely excluded. It hurt, but he followed in suit.

They jumped down from the hovering Castle into the atmosphere of the planet, and unnamed one so far. The team split apart as they freefell, their jetpacks slowing the rate of the descent enough to help them land properly. Lance landed far from his teammates, near a few structures.

* * *

Lance wandered into an abandoned town. The more he explored, the heavier his heart felt. The ruins were devastating, but they were  _ fresh _ . It seemed like these buildings had been town down and blown apart by Galran soldiers no more than a week ago, if that. The smell of soot hung freshly in the air, and death walked among the ruins. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

Still, a soft flashing light had drawn his attention as he skirted around the edge of the town, so he knew that he had to investigate, in case it was the ‘beacon’ the others had mentioned earlier.

He followed through to the center of the town until he finally reached the source of the flashing light. He grinned when he saw who was wearing the tracker bracelet.

“Hello there, beautiful.” He cooed softly.

* * *

“Report in, Paladins.” Coran ordered over the communicators. About a varga had passed, but none of the team had checked in with their locations yet. A few moments passed before the crackling of a response began.

“Nothing here.” Shiro responded first, “I’ll sweep the next area.”

“Nada.” Hunk called out, “Are you sure we’re in the right  _ hemisphere _ ?” He seemed irritated. It was a combination of feeling bad for keeping Lance in the dark and frustration at not being able to find the Liannan Princess.

“Affirmative!” Coran chirped back, much too happily for Hunk’s current mood, “The frequency alone narrowed the search quite a bit, it shouldn’t be too long before she’s found.”

“No Princess!” Pidge added in, her tone even  _ more _ annoyed than Hunk’s. “Has Lance checked in yet?” She knew he probably hadn’t, he nearly always checked in last. 

“No, and no sign of the Princess here, either.” Keith replied. He  _ also _ seemed frustrated, but at that point, they  _ all _ were. They’d been searching tirelessly for a varga and still hadn’t so much as  _ seen _ the Princess.

A crackling noise came over the intercom. Lance was the only one who had yet to check in, so the others were waiting with baited breath. Partly hoping he  _ had _ found her, partly hoping he  _ hadn’t  _ found her, they weren’t sure which would bring the better outcome.

“You guys wouldn’t  _ believe _ who I found.” He drawled, his voice just on the verge of bragging. Although they probably  _ thought _ they knew what he was bragging about, in actuality they had no  _ clue _ . 

“The Princess?” A few of them responded in a choppy, near-unison. Lance chuckled over the communicator.

“And she’s the most  _ beautiful _ Princess I’ve ever laid eyes on.” He emphasized. A muffled giggle came through the channel, assumedly from the Princess. The team was shocked at her response. That could create problems.

* * *

The team quickly regathered and Princess Allura brought down a pod to gather them up. Lance was the farthest, however, and told them that he could probably reach the Castle’s dock without the pod. He  _ insisted _ that they board without him, because the Princess was looking forward to a flight with him. He assured them that it must have been the male Liannans who were tall, because the Princess was much shorter. He could carry her to the Castle dock.

The others waited patiently at the dock for his arrival. Or rather, they paced the deck in silent concern. Pidge felt like telling the others that she  _ knew _ they should have kept him busier, but Hunk was growing more and more concerned with the feelings that they shouldn’t have even tried to distract him in the  _ first place _ . The Red and Black Paladins were both disappointed at Lance’s tone, though Shiro’s disappointment was for the sake of Keith. 

The doors to the dock finally hissed open at the slight atmospheric change and Lance walked in with the biggest shit-eating grin the others had ever seen on his face. In his arms was a small bundle of a white blanket.

“Uh, Lance?” Keith asked hesitantly, “Where is the Princess?” He looked behind the Blue Paladin and back to him, concerned and also a bit relieved of her absence. It was childish, he knew.

A soft smack sent Lance into laughter. Pidge had slapped her face, feeling incredibly stupid. She lashed out a bit, “Keith you  _ idiot _ , he’s  _ holding the Princess _ .” Lance’s grin settled into a smug smile. “We’re  _ all  _  idiots did nobody even think to  _ ask how old she was _ .”

Allura and Coran looked at each other. “It didn’t even cross my mind.” Allura confessed, “Though more of the King’s comments make much more sense now.”

Coran nodded in agreement. “An infant  _ would _ die without the protection of its older sibling.” He added. The others laughed nervously, realizing they had been trying to prevent Lance from participating in a mission that he had singlehandedly completed, as well as one that he had no reason to be withdrawn from.

The sentiment was not lost on their Blue Paladin.

* * *

“-’mon Lance. Please.” Hunk begged, trying to get his best friend to so much as  _ look _ at him. Instead, he was granted the  _ adorable _ sight of Lance blowing raspberries into the Princess’s belly. She shrieked and giggled, insisting to be played with more.

After a few more failed attempts, Hunk left and his place was taken by Pidge. She didn’t try nearly as hard as he did, but had a few good attempts.

“I have some toys that she could play with. They’re old Altean toys.” She offered, not even bothering to try and get him to forgive her. She figured bribery would work better right now. 

Lance hesitated, the thought of giving the adorable little blue girl some actual toys to play with was a great idea. Luckily, he didn’t have to consider it long. The baby’s belly rumbled before he could cave.

“Oh my little Princess,” He cooed, “Let’s get you some food.” He fed her some food that Allura had deemed safe for the Liannan people to eat. After about ten or so minutes into her meal, she started squirming around. Lance sighed and grabbed a towel, draping it over his shoulder. “Up you go, cutie.” He said, putting her belly to his chest and her head resting just at his shoulder. 

He patted her back softly, but firmly, a few times. Pidge noticed that he kind of bounced as he did it, and she wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing. “Are you bu-” she started to ask, but was interrupted by a belch much louder than expected from a tiny baby. Immediately after, some of the food Lance had fed her was spit up as well.

The Green Paladin’s face melted into disgust and she excused herself as quickly as possible. On her way out, Pidge could be heard muttering throughout the halls about how children were disgusting and she would  _ never _ have any. 

Shiro was the next to come in and see Lance and the Princess. By then, Lance  _ knew _ that they were avoiding him. The Black Paladin sat near the pair, unaware of how Lance had taken over nearly the entire common area to play with the Princess. 

“She seems like she really loves playing with you.” He commented, opting for a less direct approach. The Blue Paladin nodded in response, not even looking to his leader. He covered his face with his hands, with the Princess facing him on his lap.

“Peek-a-boo!” He squeaked, flashing his face, then covering it again quickly. He repeated it once, then twice more before Shiro worked up the nerve to speak again.

“We’re really relieved that you found her.” He tried again, “None of us can really handle babies like you can.” This time he gained a sharp glare. Lance hesitated, and Shiro could have sworn that he had nearly coaxed him into responding. Ultimately, he thought better of it and turned his attention back to the baby.

Allura and Coran watched from outside the common area as Shiro attempted a few more times to get Lance to speak to him. As the leader of the group from Earth, he felt  _ especially _ guilty. The Alteans noticed when Keith walked up, although Shiro and Lance did not.

“Why is he angry with us?” Allura asked, her voice a hushed tone. “Did we do something to offend him?” Both the Altean Princess and her royal advisor looked deeply concerned. The Red Paladin shook his head slowly.

"No.” He looked to Lance, who was hanging onto every babbled word of the baby Princess. “It was something  _ we _ did, while the two of you were speaking to the King of the Liannan people.”

* * *

As the team neared the home planet of the tiny Princess in Lance’s lap, they grew more concerned about his indifference towards them and their attempts at reconciliation. By the time the planet was within a varga’s travel, the Red Paladin was nearly thrown into the common area with the two. He had protested, but it was to no avail.

He shuffled hesitantly towards Lance and the Princess, watching as Lance sang a lullaby to the Princess. Keith realized he didn’t understand what he was singing, and leaned in closer without realizing it to hear better. The Blue Paladin noticed immediately and cast a glare towards him, his soft melody never faltering. The lullaby looped back again and Keith caught the tempo.

Although he wasn’t sure  _ what _ Lance was singing, since it sounded like Spanish, he could follow and hum along. The Princess yawned and grabbed at Lance’s shirt, tugging herself close to him. Keith nearly lost his place in the melody at such an adorable sight. Even more charming was the way his teammate looked down at the baby with complete adoration. How the other boy could come to care for someone in such a short time would never cease to amaze Keith.

A few minutes passed, and the Princess stopped moving altogether, save for her regular, relaxed breathing. Lance’s singing faded out once he realized he had finally put her to sleep. 

“You have a beautiful singing voice.” Keith complimented. He continued speaking, since Lance seemed to be ignoring him anyway, “And I never knew you were so great with kids.”

Lance scoffed, the movement stopping before it disturbed the Princess, “I’m the youngest of four. My parents hadn’t  _ planned _ on having another child, so I’m seven years younger than my youngest brother. All of my siblings have kids, I’ve got five little niblings.” He glanced at the Princess, “Actually my sister-in-law had just sent word of another baby a few days before I left Earth. By now I might have six.” His eyes dulled as he remembered everyone back home, an expression Keith had seen his teammate wear before.

“That’s amazing.” He replied, not sure what else to say. “Are you,” He hesitated a fraction of a second, “still angry at us?” Lance sighed in response, but Keith kept his gaze on him until he responded.

“I’m not even angry,” He explained, “do you guys even know  _ why _ I’m upset?” Keith didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure  _ why _ Lance was reacting so badly. Nodding his head, he continued, “Yep, okay. Sounds about right.  _ Look _ ,” He emphasized, as if trying to break down his explanation as simply as possible, “ _ you _ don’t have to worry about being benched. You’re super useful and even when you go off by yourself in dangerous situations you get a slap on the wrist and that’s that.”

Keith opened his mouth to argue, but Lance kept going, “But somehow I get treated like a  _ toddler _ who can be kept busy with puzzles and sorting games to  _ keep out of your hair _ . I try to stick with the team. I try to follow orders. I try to point out tactical flaws in the enemy and our  _ own _ strategies. And yet?” He shook his head with an expression of disbelief, “You guys think that I would try and hit on a girl,  _ whose age you don’t even know _ , while we rescued her. Did I forget anything?” He thought for a moment.

“Oh right you also thought I would hit on a girl  _ who had just lost her brother _ .” He exhaled sharply, then realized his rant might have disturbed the baby. He checked on her--still fast asleep-- and brought his sharp gaze back to Keith. “I’m upset because my  _ team _ seems to think that I’m an inconsiderate  _ asshole _ , when I’ve just been trying my best. What else do you guys  _ want _ from me?”

Lance’s emotional high waned and he was left with an exhausted expression. He leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes, with the baby on his chest. Keith thought he looked like he was about to take a nap. Trying to be helpful, he reached for the Princess. 

“Don’t move her, you’ll disturb her sleep.” Lance said, his eyes still closed. Keith wasn’t sure how he knew he had moved, but the Red Paladin made his departure.

* * *

“We should apologize.” Keith finished, wrapping up his retelling of what his conversation had been like with Lance. Hunk nodded along, in total agreement. The Yellow Paladin had felt guilty ever since he asked Lance for help with sorting parts.

Even Pidge had the decency to look guilty, seeing as she was the main instigator in the plan that had backfired so spectacularly. “It won’t be easy for us to even get him to  _ listen _ to us.” She said quietly. Her tone turned sour as she added, “He’s so hooked on the baby to even acknowledge our presence.” She crossed her arms and settled into an angry pout.

The Red Paladin’s expression softened at Pidge, she looked like a jealous sibling. One that was angry at a new baby for taking her brother’s attention. “He misses his family a lot. The baby reminds him of his nieces and nephews,” He hesitated a split second as his response garnered the others’ attention, “I think.”

A soft slap followed, caused by Hunk bringing his hands to his face in a revelation. “Alexa must have had her baby by now! Of  _ course _ he’s wanting to cling to any baby he sees.” He dragged his hands down his face dramatically, then added with a shrug, “Although, he  _ loves _ little kids so he’d probably want to be holding her all the time  _ regardless _ .”

“Maybe you should do something nice for the Princess,” Coran said thoughtfully, “And while she’s being entertained, you can properly apologize to Lance.” Shiro looked around at his teammates, who nodded in agreement. It was a great idea, considering Lance’s soft spot for the Princess.

* * *

As a celebration for the Princess’s return to her home planet, the Altean royalty gathered a few sparklers from storage and found some Liannan-friendly toys for the baby. Hunk snagged Pidge’s help in the kitchen and cooked up a few sweets for the whole party. 

Keith had a special job. As he was the only person that Lance spoke to while he was holding the Princess. As he entered the common room, he noticed that the little Princess was just waking up from her previous nap. She immediately began crying when she woke up in an unfamiliar setting. Surprised by the sudden upset, the Red Paladin rushed to Lance’s side. He peeked over at the Princess, then looked at his teammate.

“What’s wrong with her?” His voice drew the attention of the Princess. She let out a couple more cries, then noticed Keith was there. In an instant, her crying stopped and she stared in wonder at the newcomer.

“She’s upset at a new place but…” He trailed off, unsure of why the baby suddenly was okay at the sight of Keith, “I’m not sure why she likes you.” Keith blanched. He wasn’t good with children, he had certainly never been  _ liked _ by children. Unless he was glaring down someone intimidating one, but that was a rare occurrence.

“Are you su-” Keith began, but was abruptly interrupted by a sharp yank on his hair. The Princess had reached up and grabbed it without him noticing. She, and Lance, started giggling in the more adorable unison the Red Paladin had ever heard. He didn’t mind the discomfort anymore.

“Maybe you remind her of someone back home. Probably  _ not _ her father. He had nothing that looked like you.” He hesitated and shifted the Princess in his arms. His hold on her tightened a fraction, like a reassuring hug, before he loosened it and nudged his armful of baby towards Keith.

Keith stared at Lance’s arms like he was carrying an armed bomb. Lance moved his arms again and nodded curtly at him, as if giving permission. “D’ya wanna hold her or not?” He finally grumbled out, after he realized that Keith was  _ not _ understanding the gesture.

His eyes widened and he sputtered some unintelligible response. Somewhere in the shock, Lance heard him say, “I might break her.” That made the Blue Paladin throw his head back and laugh. It was a hearty, full-body experience that Keith felt lucky to be the cause of--even if Lance was laughing  _ at _ him. 

“She won’t  _ break _ .” Lance reassured him, coming down from the humor of the response. “Sit next to me and I’ll grab her if you drop her.” He offered. Keith gave him a pointed look. “I don’t  _ think _ you’re going to drop her, but you’re worried you will so I’m giving a solution, Mullet.” 

Keith cracked a small smile and took a seat next to Lance. He was given the baby, but he realized she wasn’t very much like a human baby. She was about the same size, but not as squishy as he thought  _ human _ babies were. She was also blue, so a bit unusual. 

“You know, we’re setting up some things for her to play with.” He said as casually as he could manage. Keith had never spent extended time with children, so to be so loved by one made him feel weird. He  _ liked _ that she liked him, he just didn’t understand why. Keith decided that he definitely liked kids. 

Lance smiled, and scooped the Princess up out of Keith’s arms playfully. The Red Paladin felt alarmed at her sudden disappearance, but Lance had already started talking to her. “Upsy-daisy, let’s go see what our friends have to say for themselves.” His tone was playful, but his words seemed serious. Keith wasn’t sure if he was still mad at the team or not.

* * *

The party went along wonderfully, despite Lance’s hesitation in joining. Shortly after they began pulling out the brightly colored toys for the baby Princess, Coran landed the Castleship to allow for the Royal Court to board and join in the festivities. Although they had lost their Prince, they were able to have their Princess returned. It was an unexpected and remarkable turn of events for the Liannan people. 

As a crowd gathered around the Princess, held by Allura and accompanied by Coran, the team gathered around Lance.

“Hey, uh,” Pidge began, looking to her feet and speaking in a low tone, “I’m sorry for trying to get everyone to keep you away from the mission.”

“Yeah man, I realized when we started that it was super messed up,” Hunk rubbed the back of his head anxiously while he hesitated, “but I didn’t do anything to stop it, and I should have. We shouldn’t have kept you from the team like that.”

Even Shiro, who Lance had only thought allowed it to happen, spoke up. “The more I thought about it while you weren’t talking to us, I started to realize that you’ve never hit on anyone while we were in the middle of a mission. Even if your flirting got us in trouble a time or two, it was off duty and never really your fault.” He averted his eyes and garnered a sheepish expression, “I let the others do their thing because I thought it would keep us out of trouble. We’re only lucky that it  _ didn’t _ work, or then there really  _ would _ have been trouble.”

Lance looked to Keith, and saw that the Red Paladin was also about to speak his peace. He decided to spare him the trouble and heaved a large, drawn out sigh. “I wasn’t mad at you guys, I know my behavior gets a little out of hand sometimes. I don’t try to cause trouble, but I know that it  _ does _ from time to time.” He looked across his friends and his expression softened. “I was hurt that you guys didn’t even give me a chance. That you took away my decision to help with a rescue mission.”

The entire group felt guilt radiate through them. They had decided for him that he couldn’t handle something, and had been not only proven wrong, but called out for their inappropriate actions. 

“I know you guys are sorry, and I know it’s gonna be fine.” He offered, not wanting to see his friends in discomfort for very long. “Just, have a little more faith in me?” He asked gently.

His response came in a flood of physical contact. Each team member encircled their Blue Paladin and pulled him into a tight and loving group hug.

“Get off of me ya filthy animals.” He teased, wiggling through the hold. He dropped his weight and slipped out between their legs. With a glace back to his team, Lance gave them an exaggerated wink as he said, “I have a Princess to say goodbye to!”


End file.
